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Parham | 2 months ago
Hello All, I Wanted To Follow Up On My Question About Mercury From Two Months Ago. …

Hello all,

I wanted to follow up on my question about Mercury from two months ago. He had been suffering from recurring urinary blockages, and after several ER visits, I scheduled him for a PU surgery at The Bridge Clinic, a non-profit vet hospital in Bensalem and Philadelphia. The surgery was done on Aug 14th, and the surgeon recommended doing the PU first to see if the stones would pass naturally, which they did. The surgery cost me $1,181.

Unfortunately, the issues didn’t end there. Mercury seemed to recover for about three weeks, but then he started frequenting the litter box and peeing only small amounts, sometimes not at all. He also began peeing outside the litter box and seemed very uncomfortable, especially at night, so I took him for a follow-up on Sep 12th. An X-ray and urinalysis were negative for stones or infections, but crystals were found, leading to a diagnosis of FIC/FLUTD. They suggested Gabapentin for pain and more water fountains and litter boxes (this visit cost $191).

Despite following their advice, Mercury’s issues persisted, so I scheduled another appointment on Sep 19th. The vet confirmed FLUTD and suspected a possible infection at the surgical site, so he received a Convenia and Buprenorphine injection (visit cost: $134). Still, no improvement.

I then took him to his primary vet at Telford on Oct 3rd, where they suspected a different bacterial infection and prescribed Clavamoxin, though I declined a urine culture due to cost (this vist was $170). I also put him on a strict urinary diet (he was on dryMetabolic Urinary food and regular wet food which I diluted with water). He showed some improvement, but then, last Monday, he seemed blocked again. After giving him Amitriptyline, he was able to urinate, and Telford said their only recomendation is a urine culture, and they don’t have any time to see him that week, so I reluctantly agreed to. (Urine culture + 7 Amitriptyline + 14 Clavamoxine was $323), today the results from the culture came back clean, meaning I spent $273 for nothing.

What’s frustrating is that I haven’t spoken to the vet directly since the first visit, only through techs and nurses, and I’m running out of time and money. Mercury is still in pain and struggling to urinate, and I don’t know what else to do.

So if you have any insight or recommendations to what I should do next please let me know because I am at my wits end and have no idea what to do. (I’ve attached the visit’s summaries and the receipt from my last time at Telford to this post)

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,

    I applaud your dedication and devotion and on your cat. I’m sorry it has been such a long and arduous road.

    I’m sorry but I also think these cases need lots of time to resolve. They are usually complicated and multifactorial. So expecting or hoping for a quick resolution is often not feasible.

    I do think that it is hard to manage a budget and a complicated case. I don’t know if anyone has done xrays or an ultrasound but these are also still on the list of possible places to look for your answer. If you are running right on funds than lean harder on pain medication and anxiety medication.

    I like long term gabapentin and fluoxetine. I also offer lots of options in the litter and litter box department. I like a big, shallow uncovered box with potting soil, or play sand. Don’t remove what you have just add something like this and see which box they choose to use. Also add anything that you can to help keep him relaxed and calm.

    I also like feliway and lots and lots of toys.

    I hope this helps. Please let us know how things are going.

    Good luck
    Krista.

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Vanessa | 1 year ago
I Have A 12 Month Old Male Rescue Kitten That In The Past Three Weeks Has Blocked …

I have a 12 month old male rescue kitten that in the past three weeks has blocked twice. We’ve spent thousands to unblock him. The emergency vet hospitals in my area have all quoted me a price of over 8,000 dollars for PU surgery. He is currently not blocked but is having trouble and discomfort while urinating and his volume isn’t great. He’s on a prescription diet and we’ve done everything we can to keep him healthy. But we feel that PU surgery is inevitable and is our only option to save his life. The emergency vet told us that if we couldn’t afford surgery they would euthanize him for us. He’s the sweetest boy and deserves a chance at a long life. We are desperate for help. We would be willing to travel in order to get him what he needs if that’s what it would take. Please help us! We love our little Loki

3 Responses

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,

    Im sorry to hear about your kitty, I get this question/request A LOT!

    It sounds like he is doing well now.

    There are a lot of things you can do to prevent and prepare for any future episodes. You could find an online group to help educate and support you. Or ask to volunteer or work at a cat clinic to help understand how to monitor and care for your cat. Also reach out to your vet for advice.
    Call and ask everyone you know about finding local affordable resources.. If you do please let me know.

    Things to ask about now, to try to prevent future issues are;
    learn how to palpate the bladder at home.
    learn how to giv sq fluids at home
    ask about starting prednisilone
    ask about adding cosequin
    ask about a prescription urinary diet
    have an emergency plan ready
    ask about adding gabapentin (for stress and pain)

    if you need a pu surgery call the clinic and i will do all i can to help

    here are some of my blogs that might help;
    https://kmdvm.blogspot.com/search?q=blocked+cat

    I hope this helps

    keep me posted

    i am trying very hard to help these cases but it will only happen if the public helps me too!

    krista

  2. Vanessa Post author

    Dear Dr. Magnifico,

    First, please let me say a big thank you for getting back to me. We are so grateful for your time and knowledge.

    Yes at this moment Loki is doing ok. Friday evening we became very concerned. He was spending a considerable amount of time in the litterbox and making an awful face as he was trying to urinate. I found a considerable amount of urine mixed with light pink blood Saturday morning on my kitchen floor. So we know at the moment he isn’t blocked.

    I have exhausted a lot of the suggestions you made without much progress or success. None of my local vets will entertain PU surgery as they feel it is too complicated and dangerous.

    Some things we have done at home:
    Feliway diffusers all through my house
    added extra litterboxes
    We started him on prescription science diet food but it has come to our attention that every time he needs more food the emergency vet will need to see him to do a “re-check”. So we put him on non prescription Royal Canin urinary food and have gotten him off almost all dry food and on mostly all wet.
    We got a supplement called Tinkle Tonic.
    We have gabapentin from his hospital stay but they will not give me more.
    I also have a cosequin supplement but want to supplement slowly.

    I’m just bringing you up to speed on the measures we have taken so far.

    I would love to be able to volunteer it would fulfill my heart. But right now I’m a stay at home mom raising daughters! It’s not my season just yet.

    Thanks again for responding!

    Vanessa

  3. Vanessa Post author

    I just read your blog from April 2023 and I’m devastated because this was my exact experience with Loki except I’m nearly 4,000 in the hole. I’m doing everything I can at home and I’m absolutely terrified that he is going to re block and then we will be out of options all because of how much we’ve already spent. I’m crying even as I type this. Because it is absolutely unethical. He’s just a baby…

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Natalie | 4 years ago
We Brought Mila, My 7 Year Old Mixed Domestic Savannah Chausie Female Spayed Kitty, Early This Morning …

We brought Mila, my 7 year old mixed domestic savannah chausie female spayed kitty, early this morning for emergency attention because she was moaning and groaning in pain last night and could hardly move. Prior to this morning she had been seen two weeks ago at the same emergency clinic and her primary vet. Both determined she had crystals and a UTI and prescribed medication which we’ve been giving as instructed along with keeping her on the strict urinary care diet from hills c/d.

She tried yesterday and this morning to use the litter box but was unsuccessful in relieving herself so we had to treat it as if she was experiencing a blockage which you know is very dangerous.

The Dr. was able to express Mila’s full bladder and found no blockage there, but said Mila was in a lot of pain while undergoing the procedure. She did not feel any stool so Mila is not considered to be constipated, but a good sized stone or crystal was visible during the ultrasound.

The Dr. strongly believes Mila still has a UTI and wants to get that under control first, so we were given the following medications:

Pradofloxacin (antibiotic)
Prazosin (for urethral spasms)

We were also instructed to increase the dosage of the Gabapentin from 0.3ml every 12 hours to 0.5ml every 8 hours since it didn’t seem to be doing enough in terms of managing Mila’s pain. She was previously on buprenorphine for pain but we were concerned that it was constipating her.

We need to bring Mila in as soon as possible to perform another urinalysis and culture as was recommended by the Emergency clinic. This was recommended to determine whether or not the bacteria from the UTI has spread to Mila’s kidneys.

We chose to decline those diagnostics at the emergency Clinic today as they were going to charge an additional $800 for an already expensive treatment and we felt more comfortable going through our primary vet for Mila (the diagnostics will cost a fraction of what emergency quoted.)

I want to do everything I can for Mila but we are now in the hole nearly $2k at the point between the two emergency visits and the primary vet visit, so wanting to know what is necessary now Vs. what can be phased in.

I hate seeing her in pain and I’m just worried that she isn’t improving.

2 Responses

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  1. Sarah

    Good morning-
    Im sure you are getting her into see your vet right away. I would have a very in depth conversation regarding your budget and what you expect as well as your concerns and Mila’s overall comfort level. Years ago one of our cat’s had a urinary blockage and I do remember him being kept for a few nights, catheterized, and surgery to remove the blockage and Rx cat food for the remainder of his years. And it was expensive, and it was a long recovery, but he did well. I hope Mila does too.

    1. Natalie Post author

      Thanks Sarah!

      We’ve been acting with urgency and Mila is finally starting to improve – she was given a stronger antibiotic to tackle the UTI in addition to the pain and urethral spasm medications. It seems to be the right cocktail, allowing Mila to urinate without strain. I never thought I’d be so happy to watch her go! haha.

      After her most recent visit to the vet this past Monday, they confirmed no blockage, no stones, and a smaller less full bladder! Good girl Mila! We are waiting on the urine culture results which will tell us exactly what type of bacteria she’s got in her UTI, but in the meantime we are no longer in the “up all night watching her like a hawk” phase.

      After 3 emergency visits and 2 visits with her regular vet, we seem to be finally getting our playful Mila back.